Israel plans to seize historical site in the West Bank as a new
settlement appears
[November 21, 2025]
By JULIA FRANKEL
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel plans to seize parts of a major West Bank
historic site, according to a government document, and settlers put up a
new outpost overnight, even as the country faces pressure to crack down
on settler violence in the Palestinian territory.
Israel's Civil Administration announced its intention to expropriate
large swaths of Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the West Bank,
in the document obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. Peace Now,
an anti-settlement watchdog group, said the site is around 1,800 dunams
(450 acres) — Israel's largest seizure of archeologically important
land.
The move came as Israeli settlers celebrated the creation of a new,
unauthorized settlement near Bethlehem, and a Palestinian lawyer said a
West Bank activist has been detained and hospitalized.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said Israel may have committed war crimes
when it forcibly expelled 32,000 Palestinians from three West Bank
refugee camps this year.
Israel to seize swaths of Sebastia heritage site
The Israeli order released Nov. 12 lists parcels of land it intends to
seize in the Sebastia area. Peace Now, which provided the document to
AP, said the popular archeological site, where thousands of olive trees
grow, belongs to the Palestinians.
The capital of the ancient Israelite kingdom Samaria is thought to be
beneath the ruins of Sebastia, and Christians and Muslims believe it's
where John the Baptist was buried.
Israel announced plans to develop the site into a tourist attraction in
2023. Excavations have already begun and the government has allocated
more than 30 million shekels ($9.24 million) to develop the site,
according to Peace Now and another rights group.
The order gives Palestinians 14 days to object to the declaration.
The largest parcel of historical land previously seized by Israel was
286 dunams (70 acres) in Susya, a village in the south of the West Bank,
Peace Now said.
Settlers inaugurate new illegal outpost days after Palestinian attack
Israeli settlers said they established a new unauthorized outpost close
to Bethlehem. The chairman of the local Etzion settler council, Yaron
Rosenthal, welcomed the settlement as a “return to the city of our
matriarch Rachel, of King David.” Rosenthal said the new community would
“strengthen the connection" between Etzion and Jerusalem.
The new outpost could be a response to the latest Palestinian attack on
Israelis in the West Bank. It's close to the busy junction where on
Tuesday Palestinian attackers stabbed one Israeli to death and wounded
three more.
Rosenthal demanded that Israel respond forcefully and better support the
settlements.
“Terrorism is fueled by the hope of a state,” he said, connecting the
violence to the Palestinian Authority and a renewed push to advance
efforts to secure Palestinian statehood.
Hamas did not claim responsibility for the attack, but in a statement
called it “a normal response to the occupation’s attempts to liquidate
the Palestinian cause,” vowing that Israeli aggression wouldn’t go
unchallenged.
Hagit Ofran, the director of Peace Now’s settlement watch program, said
the outpost is on land that used to be an Israeli military base. Photos
that settlers shared online show temporary homes at the site and
bulldozers at work.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza — areas claimed
by the Palestinians for a future state — in the 1967 war. It has settled
over 500,000 Jews in the West Bank, largely on unauthorized settlements,
in addition to over 200,000 more in contested east Jerusalem.
Israel’s government is dominated by far-right proponents of the settler
movement including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who formulates
settlement policy, and Cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees
the nation’s police force.
Israel's president and high-ranking military officials have condemned a
recent wave of settler violence in the West Bank.
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A Palestinian flag flies over the Roman historical site in the West
Bank town of Sebastia Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser
Nasser)
Palestinian activist is detained and hospitalized
A Palestinian activist who documented settler violence in the West
Bank has been detained and hospitalized, his lawyer told the AP
Thursday. Riham Nasra said the activist, Ayman Ghrayeb Odeh, was
hospitalized after his detention at a military base in the Jordan
Valley.
“Israeli authorities refuse to reveal where he is, what his
condition is or why he has been hospitalized,” she said.
Shin Bet, Israel's security agency, confirmed the activist has been
detained on incitement charges. Odeh could face indefinite
administrative detention, a punishment without charge or a trial
based on secret evidence.
His brother, Bilal Ghrayeb, told AP he spoke briefly with Odeh
shortly after his detention while he was visiting a Palestinian
family in the Jordan Valley. His brother said the military
confiscated Odeh's phone and that he has not heard from him since.
“He is an activist who posts photos and writes on social media about
what is happening. He is not inciting. He is not hiding anything,
nothing is secret. He is only saying and posting what he sees about
the lives of people in the Jordan Valley," Ghrayeb said.
Human Rights Watch says Israel committed war crimes in the West
Bank
Human Rights Watch said top Israeli officials including Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and
Defense Minister Israel Katz should be investigated for war crimes.
In a report published Thursday, the group said the Israeli military
forcibly expelled 32,000 Palestinians from three West Bank refugee
camps this year.
Israel’s military raids on refugee camps in the north of the West
Bank in January and February amounted to the largest displacement in
the territory since Israel captured it in 1967, Human Rights Watch
said.
Israel has said its troops will stay in some camps for a year, and
its unclear when, if ever, Palestinians will be able to return.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians are living with relatives
cramming into rental apartments, or living in public buildings.
Human Rights Watch said it analyzed satellite images and concluded
that more than 850 homes and buildings were destroyed or heavily
damaged. The Israeli military has said it was attacking militant
infrastructure and clearing space for troop movement.
Israel said the “Operation Iron Wall” raids were necessary to stamp
out militancy in the West Bank after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023,
attack ignited the war in Gaza. It said Thursday that troops
dismantled explosive labs and exchanged fire with militants during
the raids. It said in a statement that militant attacks have since
decreased by 70% in the West Bank, but provided no evidence.
Human Rights Watch said Israeli authorities didn’t explain why they
had to remove everyone from the camps nor why they haven’t been
allowed to return. The report said the military shot at residents
who attempted to reenter the camps, and that it has not provided
shelter or humanitarian assistance to the displaced.
“With global attention focused on Gaza, Israeli forces have carried
out war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing in the
West Bank that should be investigated and prosecuted,” said Nadia
Hardman, senior refugee and migrant rights researcher at Human
Rights Watch.
The report was based on interviews with 31 Palestinians displaced
from Tulkarem, Nur Shams and Jenin refugee camps.
The camps resemble dense, urban slums and are home to millions of
Palestinians. Human Rights Watch said it analyzed satellite imagery
of the camps and found more than 850 homes and buildings have been
destroyed or heavily damaged.
The Israeli military has told the AP that some of the damage was to
strike militant infrastructure, while some was to clear space for
easier troop movement around the camps.
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